1989 1. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No.

1 & 2
K. M. Wong*: Current and Potential Uses of Bamboo
in Peninsular Malaysia
Revised manuscript received August 15, 1988.
Abstract
In Peninsular Malaysia, the industrial utilization of bamboo is less than in countries
with more established industries. Although bamboo has long been an integral part of tradi-
tional and rural Malaysian life, it is now little used in rural house construction, for which
more durable materials such as wood are preferred. The present industries are mainly at the
cottage level, manufacturing incense sticks, vegetable baskets and poultry cages; several
concerns manufacture broomsticks, meat skewers and blinds. These, however, are low
priced, disposable utility items that chiefly cater to the domestic market. Recent develop-
ments include expansion of the already viable export oriented handicraft industry and
greater innovation in product development and processing methodology. The disappearing
art of using bamboo to plait elaborate motifs into panels has great promise when used in the
construction of art craft furniture and indoor fittings. At the same time, there is the possibil-
ity of using bamboo to make furniture frames; this has not been fully explored probably
because other materials such as wood and rattan are readily available. The present bamboo
resource exists almost entirely as unmanaged wild populations. Although apparently ade-
quate for existing utilization, efforts should be made to increase the supply of raw material
to match a more intensive and systematic exploitation. The management of existing bam-
boo areas, improvements in harvesting and the cultivation of marginal land near cottage
industries are considered. These represent, in Malaysia, new areas of endeavor for which
preliminary trials are essential.
Introduction
In Peninsular Malaysia, the minor forest products - items obtained from the forest
other than timber - are varied, but not all are important commercially. Some, like gutta-
percha (a gum derived from the latex of nyatoh trees like Taban merah, Palaquium gutta,
(Hk.f.) Baillon extensively used for the coating of submarine cables in the early part of this
century), have declined in importance until no longer significant. Minor forest products
include items like animal skins, beeswax and honey, but only the plant products, such as rat-
tan and bamboo, are of commercial importance. In economic terms, minor forest products
differ from timber in the much smaller total (bulk and monetary) yield per unit area, and
usually also in their higher monetary value per unit weight. Often a comparatively minimal
investment is required to organize the harvesting of minor forest products.
Bamboo is second only to rattan in commercial importance as a minor forest product
in Malaysia. It has long been associated with the traditional lifestyle in Malaysia, although
it has never been as commercially important as in other countries, such as Japan, Taiwan
and the Philippines where industries based on bamboo are more established. Much
regarded as a weed in Malaysian forestry until the 1970's (Watson & Wyatt-Smith 1961,
* Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, current address: Forestry Department, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Darussalam.
2 K. M. Wong 1989
Chin 1977), it was only later that the possible use of bamboo as a raw material resource was
.given serious thought. Current attention is focussed on how a small, tradition-rich
Southeast Asian country such as Malaysia can best exploit its bamboo resources, how
mechanical innovation can improve on the economics, scale and quality of utilization, and
how value-added products can be competitively manufactured.
The intention of this paper is to explore current trends and imaginative ways of
exploiting this resource in Peninsular Malaysia. Four major areas are considered:
1. The availability of bamboo resources.
2. The quality and extent of both traditional and contemporary uses of bamboo.
3. The limitations of bamboo as a raw material compared to other natural materials and
synthetics.
4. The appeal of bamboo as a natural material suitable for many uses.
In short, the best use of bamboo depends on its availability and its adaptability to different
end-uses and manufacturing techniques.
Bamboo Resources in Peninsular Malaysia
The extent of bamboo in Peninsular Malaysia is difficult to measure because it does
not grow over large contiguous areas. Instead, bamboo is found in patches of varied habitats
such as the foothills of the peninsula's Main Range, forest fringes and parts of river courses,
and in disturbed areas such as logged-over forests. Local pure stands of bamboo sometimes
occur in the northwestern states of Perlis and Kedah, where patches of secondary forest
dominated by a mixture of bamboo (mainly Gigantochloa ligulata) Gamble and the tree
Schima wallichii (DC.) Korth. are thought to have been encouraged by woodcutting, inter-
mittent cultivation and fires that occur frequently during the annual dry season (Symington
1943). These stands are not contiguous, however, and their extent is extremely difficult to
measure. Furthermore, the density of bamboo growth can vary from place to place, accord-
ing to the site conditions, the extent of disturbance and the species. Even air photos can
only discern large disturbed areas where the bamboo grows densely. Past attempts at
estimating bamboo resources have, therefore, been largely descriptive; McGrath (1970)
merely estimated the acreage in each state where bamboo occurs significantly. Even then,
the 50,000 acres (20,250 hectares) that he estimated includes different densities of bamboo
growth ("dense, sporadic, widely scattered") as well as species with different characteris-
tics. It is important not to accept the figures given by McGrath (1970) as representative of
homogeneous density and generally useful species, as has been done in various reports.
Under such circumstances, estimations of so-called "total" resources is limited in
value. It is more applicable to survey the species that are known to be useful or potentially
exploitable, and obtain an idea of where these occur in substantial abundance. In consider-
ing the feasibility of setting up various bamboo-based industries, such factors as accessibil-
ity and productivity should also be considered. McGrath (1970) concluded that there is not
enough wild bamboo in Peninsular Malaysia to supply a pulp mill of minimum economic
size (running at 150 tons per day). However, bamboo is naturally abundant enough to sup-
port several thriving cottage and production-line industries (Wong 1982).
There are 50 species of bamboo known in Peninsular Malaysia, of which 25 are indi-
genous; the remaining are known only in cultivation. Of the wild species, Gigantochloa
scortechinii Gamble is the most widespread and useful; it occurs in the foothills of the
peninsula's mountain ranges and often spreads into disturbed lowland areas. G. scortechinii
1989 1. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No.1 & 2 3
is especially common at U1u Langat, Kanching and Ulu Gombak (Se1angor state), the Slim
and Grik areas (Perak), the Bentong-Raub and Bukit Tinggi areas (Pahang), and the Nami,
Pedu and Baling areas (Kedah). Other indigenous species that are much exploited and
abundant include G. ligulata, which is common in the northern parts of the peninsula where
there is a distinct dry season during the early part of the year, and G. wrayi Gamble, which
is common in the northern half of the peninsula and generally used in the same way as G.
scortechinii and Schizostachyum zollingeri Steud. Table 1 summarizes the utilization of
culms of Peninsular Malaysian bamboos.
The bulk of bamboo extracted from natural areas, as indicated by the royalty col-
lected by the Forestry Department (Table 2), comes from the states of Kedah and Perak.
Ground checks of the collection areas and cottage industries based in these states indicated
that the bamboos are Gigantochloa spp., mainly G. scortechinii (Figure 1), and in part G.
wrayi.
Figure I. Culms of Gigantochloa scortechinii, harvested from the Baling area in
Kedah state, being loaded onto a lorry for transport to the utilization centres.
At present, no bamboo plantations exist in Malaysia to supply any kind of mechan-
ized industry. At most, market gardeners maintain small areas planted with bamboos (G.
levis (Blanco) Merr. and Dendrocalamus asper (Schult.) Backer ex Heyne) that yield shoots
sold in markets. In order to place the supply of bamboo on a more organized and produc-
tive basis, effort must now be harnessed towards looking into the following possible areas:
I. Management in the main harvesting areas. Given a free hand, collectors, who have
no stake in the areas being worked and who cannot be constantly overseered in the
field under the present system, may over-harvest stems leaving insufficient material
for continued sustenance of the bamboo clumps, thus damaging future performance
and yields. Once the optimal harvesting and regeneration rates are worked out, it
may be feasible to centralize harvesting, possibly by contractors who work localities
4 K. M. Wong 1989
on a rotation basis.
2. Improved bamboo output. Natural areas that contain mixed species may be enriched
by replacing unwanted clumps with desired species. These areas can also be silvicul-
turally managed for increased production.
3. Cultivation on a plantation scale. There is strong competition for the lowland from
more established crops such an oil-palm and rubber. Also, the harvesting of any crop
on difficult terrain away from lowlands may be economically unattractive. Thus, one
should consider establishing bamboo plantations only on marginal land in small plots
near cottage industries, which are mainly in rural areas. Bamboos should not be
planted on extremely impoverished soils such as tin tailings because this would
require a high input of nutrients for satisfactory production.
Current Uses of Bamboo
In rural life, bamboo is acknowledged as one of the most useful of natural materials.
As in many Southeast and East Asian countries, bamboo, by virtue of its availability and
versatility, is associated with the traditional and rural lifestyles in Malaysia. It is used as a
supplementary material in house construction, in the making of numerous home utility
items, rafts, bridges, water pipes, musical instruments, kites, blow-pipes, traps and a myriad
of other items. Bamboo is also associated with traditional culinary practices, whether as
cooking implements or as a delicacy itself, and with ornamental horticulture.
There is presently emphasis to organize the economic exploitation of bamboo.
Several cottage industries in Peninsular Malaysia are well established and worthy of note.
They mostly make use of Gigantochloa scortechinii and Schizostachyum zollingeri and are
consequently centered in areas where these species are abundant. Dendrocalamus pendulus
Rid!. and Schizostachyum grande Rid!., which are also abundant, are rarely used in these
industries, though the reason is not clear. Perhaps it is because they are usually found in
hilly terrain where harvesting is difficult; they seldom invade lowland areas like G. scor-
techinii does. Collectors may avoid them because they believe them to be inferior, or it may
be that they are just more familiar with G. scortechinii.
The industries using mainly G. scortechinii, supplemented by G. wrayi, manufacture
poultry cages at Guar Chempedak in Kedah state (Figure 2), vegetable baskets at Tapah and
Telok Intan in Perak state, and incense sticks used in Chinese religious rites at the Ulu Lan-
gat district in Selangor state. The culms are either brought as whole lengths trimmed to fit
into trucks that transport them to these areas, or are hand sawed to shorter working lengths
at the harvesting sites before being transported in smaller trucks, pickups and motor
scooters. In making poultry cages and vegetable baskets, the culms are cut, split and further
sliced into thin strips using light, movable, electrical machines. Prior to slicing, the nodal
diaphragms are manually knocked out of the split lengths. Strips are plaited manually. Each
center has from 10 to 20 households engaged in the industry, each using 5 to 10 people who
are often members of the same family (Wong & Abdul Rauf 1981; Wong 1982). The
manufacture of incense sticks is centered in the Ulu Langat district (Burton 1979) where it
is the predominant occupation in several villages, again with individual households as the
operating units. The green skin of cut culms, either quartered or still in the round, is manu-
ally shaved off with a knife before the remaining part is split into sticks of about 1.5 mm
diameter. After drying in the sun, the sticks are smoothed by manually passing them
through a comblike series of knives and passing them over a small fire to remove surface
fibers. The sticks are then bundled and sent to other factories where they are coated with
1989 J. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No. I & 2 5
fine sawdust mixed with a fragrance and an adhesive. The latter factories are mostly in the
greater Kuala Lumpur area but are also found in the states of Penang and Johore. Although
some are exported, most incense sticks are kept for domestic use. Imported incense sticks
have decreased from M$260,000 in 1971 to M$181,000 in 1974 to M$146,OOO in 1978
(Malaysian Industrial Development Authority 1980).
Figure 2. Poultry cages ready for distribution at Guar Chempedak in Kedah state.
Poultry cages and vegetable baskets are manufactured for domestic use. The poultry
cages (Figure 2) are mainly supplied to poultry farms in the states of Perak and Penang for
shipping fowl to market throughout the country. Most vegetable baskets are made in the
towns of Tapah and Telok Anson. They are used in the main vegetable producing area in
the Cameron Highlands nearby for shipping produce to the lowland towns (Figure 3).
In the Mata Air district of Perl is, culms of Schizostachyum zollinReri harvested from
wild populations are used for plaiting baskets used in the northern states for holding veget-
ables and fish. The species is used in the northern states of Perlis and Kedah because it is
abundant there in its large diameter form. This form dies out towards the south where the
species has only smaller diameter culms (Wong 1981).
The local handicraft industry, best developed in the states of Kelantan, Kedah and
Perak, uses G. scortechinii culms from the forest as well as G. wrayi cultivated in villages.
The wide range of bamboo handicrafts includes place mats, vases, mugs, dish covers, trays,
baskets, kites and wall motifs (Figure 4). These are sold locally as well as abroad. The
Malaysian Handicraft Corporation plays an active role introducing new products, market
testing, providing assistance in marketing and introducing light processing machinery for
material preparation in an industry that had been wholly manual.
6
A.
B.
K.M. Wong 1989
Figure 3. A lorry fully laden with vegetable produce packed in bamboo baskets,
about to make the journey from the vegetable producing area in the Cameron High-
lands to towns in the lowlands.
,
c.
Figure 4. A, Ornamental desk tray. B , Lampshades crafted from bamboo. C , Wall
motifs plaited with bamboo, incorporating indigenous designs from the East Malay-
sian state of Sarawak.
1989 1. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No.1 & 2 7
Several makers of poultry cages and vegetable baskets also produce broomsticks and
meat skewers using simple splitting and sizing machines. At Naka in Kedah, there is a fac-
tory manufacturing bamboo blinds on a limited scale with the use of electrically operated
looms that thread thin strips of bamboo together. Other uses, which cannot be properly
categorized as industry, include the collection of slender, thick walled culms of G. ligulata
in Perlis and Kedah for use as poles for drying rubber sheets.
The young shoots of G. levis and Dendrocalamus asper are relished as a delicacy.
They are usually sold in small quantities obtained from cultivated village clumps. I know of
only one instance, at Kepong in Selangor state, where there was a bamboo shoot farm of
about one hectare cultivated solely with G. levis, but the farm is no longer in production.
Bamboo shoots cannot form the sole raw material for a profitable canning or dried food
industry because the required scale would involve cultivation on very large farms. More-
over, because shoot production is seasonal, shoot collection from natural stands is likely to
be inefficient and unpredictable (Wong 1984).
Limitations and Potential of Bamboo as a Raw Material:
the Malaysian Context
The appropriate end uses for bamboo need to be properly considered in any plan to
increase its exploitation. Bamboo generally has a low natural durability, and it is highly
susceptible to attack by wood boring beetles when untreated. It is therefore not favored in
situations where more durable materials such as timber and metal are available. Unsplit, it
has relatively low flexibility, and the physical attributes such as taper and variation in wall
thickness present difficulties in standardization of the material.
Hence, where the aesthetic qualities of the products are not important, such as poultry
cages destined for the market and utility trays, plastics are now extensively used instead of
bamboo or rattan. Plastic poultry cages cost more but last longer and can be stacked higher
during transport because of their strength. By comparison, bamboo cages are cheaper but
can be used only once or twice and cannot be stacked as high because they are compressi-
ble. In local construction scaffolding, mangrove poles have always been preferred to bam-
boo poles as they last longer, but the trend is now moving towards the use of metal scaffold-
ing that can be reused many times and can be easily assembled from modular units. Even
where aesthetics count, other considerations may render bamboo unacceptable as a raw
material. In furniture making, the use of jigs for shaping frames is highly limited with the
use of unsplit bamboo, making standardization of parts and quality control in mass produc-
tion difficult. Moreover, in many cases, simple nailing may cause the material to split.
Other than the numerous ad hoc uses associated with the traditional lifestyles of the
people, bamboo is now relatively little used in housing construction. In some rural areas,
especially in the north, the very strong and straight culms of Bambusa blumeana Schult. are
sometimes used as beams and supports in houses traditionally built on stilts, and whole
walls are sometimes plaited from bamboo strips taken mainly from Schizostachyum zol-
lingeri and Gigantochloa scortechinii. It may be quaint to live in a house with walls plaited
from bamboo, but most people now prefer a more rigid wall when the storms arrive. Even
when walls are plaited from bamboo, such house owners normally prefer to use strong
timber for the house frame, replacing the wall panels when necessary. Thus, although the
rural population in Malaysia may have a lower average income, many strive to build their
houses from wood, which is recognized as being stronger and more durable than bamboo.
8 K. M. Wong 1989
However, this is not to say that bamboo is an inferior material. Because it is plentiful,
it is a cheap raw material, and items made from it can be replaced often at comparatively
low cost. It lasts longer with some basic preservative treatment and proper finishing. Small
bamboo items, such as handicrafts, lend themselves better to standardization and quality
control in mass production. Items such as mugs, vases, hats, baskets, flutes and plaited
ornaments can be manufactured with some degree of mechanization in the preliminary
stages, especially splitting, sanding and simple weaving.
Not everything should be made by heavily mechanized mass production. Handicrafts
from the Far East are popular abroad, and individual local entrepreneurs have good sales
responses from overseas (Sulaiman Othman, Pers. comm. 1981) although no figures are
available for the export of Malaysian bamboo craft items. Handicrafts are valued as art
objects and souvenirs of the traditional skills of a country; they have special appeal when
made from indigenous, natural materials. The cottage industries that produce bamboo hand-
icrafts are therefore viable enterprises even in the modem world of mass production. Furth-
ermore, the introduction of more sophisticated craft techniques, such as bamboo lamination,
can broaden the product range. Improvements can also be made by adopting the techniques
and methods used in countries such as Japan and Taiwan, where the handicraft industry is
well developed.
Even though bamboo may not be preferred as the sole material for making furniture,
it is certainly suitable when combined with wood, rattan or other natural materials that are
aesthetically and functionally compatible. Besides sophisticated hand crafted furniture,
bamboo could be used in other types of furniture. The slender, thick walled culms like
those of the indigenous Gif!,antochloa lif!,ulata or the exotic Thyrsostachys siamensis Gam-
ble can be used for back frames of chairs and in framing tables and screens. Such uses have
probably not been implemented because both wood and rattan have been readily available
to the furniture industry for these purposes. The fear that bamboo is highly susceptible to
the powder-post beetle (mainly Dinoderus spp.) may be unfounded since material like
rubberwood, which is naturally susceptible to both bluestain fungi and pOWder-post beetles
(Tho, pers. comm. 1985), is becoming popular as furniture material. In such cases, durabil-
ity can be much improved by proper drying and finishing, rather than being just a function
of preservative chemical treatment. Some bamboo species may be naturally more resistant
than others to beetle attack and decay. In Mata Air Village in the state of Perlis, I saw an old
house raised on stilts made from Bamhusa hlumeana culms which remained in good condi-
tion after more than 10 years without any preservative treatment.
An exciting potential use of bamboo for indoor fittings arises from the art of plaiting
bamboo strips into entire walls of houses, a highly skilled practice used in several villages
in the northern state of Perlis (Wong 1982). The simple cross-plaiting of bamboo strips in
wall panels in the huts of poorer people in villages throughout Peninsular Malaysia (Figure
5) does not require the highly skilled techniques used for plaiting the ornate and elaborate
motifs on wall panels of some houses in Perlis (Figure 6). The art was more widespread
during the early part of the century (Noone 1948) but is fast disappearing as rural people
begin to rely more on planks and nails, which require less effort in building a wall. At the
villages of Ngulang and Mata Air in Perlis, where this art still exists, the few elderly arti-
sans whom I interviewed in 1981 and 1985 lamented over the general lack of interest
among young people in traditional skills. According to them, most rural youths prefer to
look for urban employment, leaving behind the many fine skills associated with the tradi-
tionallifestyle.
1989 1. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No.1 & 2
Figure 5. Simply plaited bamboo walls are part of the houses of poorer people in
some villages. In this case, the culms used are those of Gigantochloa scortechinii.
Figure 6. A traditional house in Perlis state, with walls made from bamboo strips
plaited into ornamental motifs. The bamboo used is Schizostachyum zollingeri.
9
10 K. M. Wong 1989
With the knowledge that an art fonn can barely exist when it is not popular, we arrive
at the core of a dilemma. Plaiting the elaborate motifs requires skill and creativity, and it is
time consuming (Figure 7). Yet merely encouraging a wider use of this craft in rural house
building (Figure 8) is not a practical and strong enough motivation for keeping the skill
alive. We might say that this tradition is barely living in the small community of craftspeo-
ple who still construct such panels. The nation's recently fonnulated Accelerated Village
Industry Development program, part of which encourages the perpetuation of traditional
crafts through its many rural skill training centers, also helps.
Figure 7. An elderly artisan masterfully incorporates yet another bamboo strip into
the plaited panel that is made only with painstaking skill.
1989 1. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No. I & 2
Figure SA. An entire house-wall constructed from elaborately plaited bamboo
panels.
Figure 8B. Even the eaves of some village houses in Perlis state are panelled with
this form of highly ornate bamboo plaiting.
II
12 K. M. Wong 1989
The popular appeal of plaited panels (Figure 9) is evident from their use on walls and
ceilings in several prestigious hotels in the city of Kuala Lumpur. Even here, the potential
of this art form is not exploited to the fullest. In addition to wall panelling, the plaiting can
be used to make light screens and movable indoor partitions. The elaborately plaited motifs
are enhanced in aesthetic quality when inlaid into tabletops and encased in glass. Such
innovations, suitably framed and provided with proper and attractive finishing, represent art
craft furniture and indoor fittings infused with an indigenous Malaysian and Far Eastern
flavor. At the present average price of M$lO to M$15 per square foot, the panels may not
be affordable to most people; still, the commercial success of such items will have to con-
sider that art craft furniture and fittings are often exclusive and command their own market.
In the meantime, there is much to be done in the experimentation with construction,
design and finishing. More importantly, the skill of plaiting the many available motifs with
bamboo must be even more extensively disseminated among craftspeople whose attention
should be directed toward the new potentials of traditional skills. The ornamental wall
panels of Perlis are made from Schizostachyum zollingeri. Substantial natural stands of this
species were discovered in Perlis and Kedah only as recently as 1981 (Wong 1981). The
suitability of other bamboo species for plaiting panels and screens should also be investi-
gated.
A. B.
Figure 9. A & B, Two different motifs plaited from bamboo strips taken from
Schizostachyum zollingeri, a species abundant in the northern states of Perlis and
Kedah.
1989 1. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No. I & 2 13
Table 1. The Uses of Peninsular Malaysian Bamboos.
Type of Use
Large
5-10 cm or more
A. Indigenous Species
Commercial
Ad hoc
Unused though
available or
even abundant
in some areas
Unused because
rare or unknown
*G. scortechinii
*G. wrayi
*s. zollingeri
D. pendulus
*G. ligulata
(large form)
B. "burmanica"
D. hirtellus
S. grande
D. sinuatus
G. holttumiana
B. Cultivated Species
Commercial
Ad hoc
Ornamentals
or scientific
specimens
*B. blumeana
B. vulgaris
*D. asper
*G. levis
*G. "maxima"
*S. brachyc\adum
*B. arundinacea
*D. giganteus
*G. ridleyi
Culm Diameter
Medium
2.5-5 cm
*G. Iigulata
(typical form)
G. latifolia
*B. heterostachya
D. strictus
*G. apus
G. "hasskarliana"
*T. siamensis
* Species worth consideration for greater exploitation.
B. = Bambusa, D. = Dendrocalamus, Dn. = Dinochloa, G. = Gigantochloa,
R. = Racemobambos, S. = Schizostachyum, T. = Thyrsostachys
Small
1-3 cm
B. wrayi
D. dumosus
D. elegans
S. gracile
S. latifolium
B klossii
B. magica
B. montana
B. ridleyi
Dn. scan dens
R. setifera
S. aciculare
S. insulare
S. terminale
B. aff. textilis
S. jaculans
B. glaucescens
B. ventricosa
G. rostrata
S. iraten
14 K. M. Wong 1989
Table 2. Revenue in units of one thousand Malaysian dollars collected by the Forestry
Department from bamboo taxation royalty in 1981-1982 compared with the royalty from
rattan and other minor forest products, as an indication of bamboo output from the various
states in Peninsular Malaysia.
State Bamboo Rattan Others Total
1981 1982 1982 1982 1981 1982 1981 1982
Kedah 50.6 37.5 29.2 12.8 56.5 23.9 136.4 74.2
Perlis 2.5 1.6 0.3 0.9 233.6 284.7 236.4 287.2
Kelantan 0.2 0.3 15.0 3.6 1.3 0.3 16.5 4.2
Perak 35.0 42.3 42.6 48.6 882.9 42.4 960.4 133.3
Pulau Pinang 1.2 5.2 1.2 5.2
Trengganu 0.3 0.1 5.4 5.1 53.9 16.4 59.7 21.6
Pahang 0.6 1.7 73.3 45.4 26.1 13.0 100.0 60.1
Selangor 4.6 6.1 3.0 1.5 33.5 20.2 41.1 27.8
Negeri Sembi Ian 0.1 5.1 5.4 10.7 2.9 15.9 8.5
Melaka 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.7 1.1 0.9 1.4
lohore 7.2 7.5 5.5 8.2 106.6 202.5 119.3 218.2
Total 101.2 97.5 179.4 131.6 1407.0 612.6 1687.8 841.7
6.0% 11.5% 10.6% 15.6%
Source: Annual Reports of the Forestry Department, Peninsular Malaysia. 1981 and 1982.
M$2.6 is equivalent to US$1 at time of writing.
1989 J. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No.1 & 2 15
Acknowledgements
I thank A. L. Lim, Y. P. Tho and Richard Haubrich for useful comments on a prelim-
inary draft.
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16 Richard W. Pohl
Richard W. Pohl*; Method for Obtaining Vegetative Chromosome
Counts of Bamboos
1989
In a recent publication, Soderstrom (1986) has indicated the desirability of obtaining
chromosome counts of bamboos from vegetative tissues. We have been able to obtain both
meiotic and vegetative counts from Chusquea deftexa L.G. Clark, and the meiotic count
confirmed the vegetative one (Davidse and Pohl, 1972). The method of preparation was to
peel the culm leaves from actively growing young canes and retrieve the apical meristem,
which was cut into small pieces and placed in ice water or in saturated aqueous paradi-
chlorobenzene solution to shrink the chromosomes. The vials of material were stored in a
refrigerator at ca. 4 degrees C. for 18 hours and then fixed in Newcomer's solution (Newco-
mer, 1953). After fixation, the meristem segments were stained in Fuelgen stain and
squashed by standard cytological methods.
Chromosomes of Chusquea species are readily visualized without preshrinking by use
of standard cytological stains such as aceto-orcein or proprio-carmine, but unfortunately the
chromosomes are so long and intertangled that counting is impossible.
References
Davidse, G. & R.W. Pohl, 1972. Chromosome numbers, meiotic behavior, and notes on
some grasses from Central America and the West Indies. Can ad. 1. Bot. 50: 1441-1452.
Newcomer, E.H., 1953. A new cytological and histological fixing fluid. Science (Washing-
ton), / /8: 161.
Soderstrom, T.R., 1986. Bamboo systematics; yesterday, today, and tomorrow. J. Amer.
Bamhoo Society 6 (/ -4): 4-16.
*Department of Botany. Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011
1989 J. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No. I & 2 17
Gary Mitchell*: Notes on Bamboo Survivability in the Pahrump Valley
The Pahrump Valley is an ancient drylake about 30 miles long and 10 miles wide.
very flat and flanked on both sides by steep mountain ranges. The elevation is about 2600
feet. Agriculturally. the best crops are alfalfa and cotton. The weather is tough and
unpredictable. Rain will range from I to 9 inches annually. Most rain comes in December.
January. February and March. if at all. There will be months at a time without a cloud. usu-
ally May, June and July and again in October and November.
Temperatures are as unpredictable as the rains. Winter lows will range from IS - 28
F. with about 3 days from 0 - 5 F. Winter highs range from 30 - 55 F. Commonly, there
will be about 2 weeks in January that will warm up to 70 F., creating a budding situation
with deciduous trees. shrubs and some bamboo. P. \'imx is particularly susceptable. Then,
when the cold returns there is usually some damage. In 1986, this occurred and was fol-
lowed by at least 10 days in February with lows of 10 - 15 F., and dry North winds. Cold
damage was as follows: P. \'i\'GX lost most of its youngest culms and most of its leaves. P.
\'iridi-glaucccalls, 75% leaf kill and some young culms killed to the ground. P. viridis and
P. \'iridis cv. Robert Young, some culms froze half way down with some leaf loss. P. nigra
cv. Bory, 75% leaf damage. P. aurca \'Gr .. !iavcns-invcrsa, 90% leaf damage, most culms
froze. P. aurca, 30% leaf damage. P. purpurata cv. Straight Stem, froze to the ground.
Un seasonal lows can occur also in the fall or even late summer. It has frozen to 30 - 28 F..
in September, only to return to 95 F. plus the next day or so. These out of place cold snaps
invariably damage some bamboo even though the overall lows may not be that cold. Sum-
mer temperatures aren't too bad. Average highs range from 90 - 105 F. with occasional
days to 110 F. The lows average 66 - 80 F. These temperatures run from June to mid Sep-
tember normally. Humidity runs 10 - 30% year round, except during storms.
Like most of the desert, the winds in the spring can be bad from March to June;
sometimes 2 days a week at 30 - 45 mph, from the south. Early culming bamboos take a
beating unless they have some protection. The most wind resistant bamboo is P. makinoi,
no damage. P. viridis and Robert Young, no damage. P. viridi-glausccns, little damage. P.
purpurata cv. Solid Stem, no damage. The most commonly damaged are P. aurcosulcata,
broken culms. P. \'imx, some culms tip over. P. nigra, culms break badly.
Perhaps most of this problem will go away as the stands become large enough to pro-
tect themselves from the wind, but it is a problem for the first 4 to 5 years.
The soil is pure clay. It is made up of decomposed limestone, holds water well and
nutrients don't leach away rapidly. Unfortunately, the salts don't either. The pH runs
between 8 to 9. Soluble salts run typically 3000 - 25,000 ppm. Consequently, chlorosis,
salt toxicity, zinc deficiency and a host of other problems are common.
Up to a year ago, these problems were combatted by heavy leaching, using soil
amendments, such as sulpher, gypsum, and adding organic materials and iron sulfates, plus
a variety of fertilizers, mostly 21-0-0 and 16-20-0, to the soil. Although the bamboos grew,
they could have grown and looked much better. Since that time, with the help of Alan Hin-
man, of Lubin Fertilizer and Equipment Corp., there have been some dramatic changes in
* ST RT Box 29508, Pahrump. NY 89041
18 Gary Mitchell 1989
the way the bamboos look and grow.
There is not a well planned feeding procedure but things are working nevertheless.
Starting in August of 1986, an organic penetrant was used in conjunction with urea 32-0-0,
in liquid form plus a Lubin product called Nutraplex-iron with sulpher. Later, thru the fall
and early winter, until soil temperatures fell below 50 at a 4 inch depth, the same penetrant
was used, with 15-0-0 and 16-4-4. Feeding resumed in the spring when the soil tempera-
tures came back up to 50 feeding plants every 2 weeks or so with the same fall formula.
Soil analysis showed a lack of zinc and the state pathologist suggested many of the fruit
trees were also zinc deficient, so a Lubin zinc product is being added. This zinc supplement
is not yet on a well planned program but soon will be. Experimentation continues with the
application, rates, etc., to determine what methods to use.
Two of the bamboos which were almost given up on were P. nigra cv. Bory and
P. riridis. These plants would not green up at all. Even though they are still "yellow", some
of their new culms have good green leaves and are looking better all the time. In general
these bamboos probably will never achieve the stature that they have when grown under
more favorable conditions. The size will be approximately half of what they would nor-
mally achieve.
Without extensive efforts to provide good drainage, reduce pH levels, protect from
sun and wind when young and provide water all the time, bamboos just do not do well in
the desert.
The following is a list of bamboos which have been tried and how they did or are
doing:
P. arcana: Started from I gal. plant. It did poorly from the start, but late summer and
winter was it's undoing. It lived for two years. Probably should try it again in a more shel-
tered place.
P. aurea: This one is tough by any standard. Does well under almost an any conditions. It
is a rampant runner, responds well to feed (lots of it), and looks good most of the time. It
never tends to be very dark green, but is pretty nevertheless. Spring budding takes place in
late February and early March. New culms start in late March and last thru April. The new
culms are reasonably wind tolerant. The tallest here is about 20 feet, but may get
significantly taller.
P. aurea mr. jial'ens-inl'ersa: It was very slow to start and was damaged badly 'the first
year by cold, (winter of '86), 10 in February. The plant since that time has become very
vigorous and looks very good. The plant has put up many fall culms in October and
November, one of them being its tallest culm at about 7 feet.
P. aureosulcata: Completely hardy, but is usually damaged in spring by wind when culm-
ing. Budding starts in late February, culming in early March thru mid May. There has been
no fall culming. The plant has grown to about 8-9' in 6 years. The plant is a rampant
spreader and likes much water.
P. hamhusoides: Results are inconclusive. Planted 2 of them this spring. One died, the
other looks great. The summer did not bother the one that lived at all, and it still has a very
good color.
1989 J. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No. I & 2 19
P. decora: One of the best bamboos. It looks good anytime of the year. It is very green
with very little chlorosis. It is a rampant runner, but slow to get very tall, 5 to 6 feet in 6
years. It is a small but pretty bamboo. Budding is in March and culming is in late March
and early April. The plant is more drought tolerant than most of the other bamboos and
never shows signs of stress from the heat, drought or cold.
P. elegans: Planted in spring and has done fairly well until late October. Then it started
looking bad .. Its losing most of its leaves. On November 12, it started blooming.
P. makinoi: Another star performer. The plants general impression is one of great vigor.
Most of its leaves are a very dark green with a few being chlorotic. So far it has shown no
signs if stress from heat or cold. It has looked better in the winter than any of the other
bamboos. The plant has so far spread very little, but has doubled in height and tripled in
number of culms each year. It is to 8 feet in two complete growing seasons. Culming is
different than other Phyllostachys. Culming starts slowly around mid May and the culms
grow slowly taking two or three weeks to reach full size. The plant only puts up two or
three at a time, allowing each one to reach nearly full size, then puts up two or three more.
This process slows down in the heat of summer, but picks up again as the weather cools,
towards the end of September. The plant has actually puts up more culms in October and
November, than in the spring, although being somewhat smaller. The wind has not dam-
aged any of the new culms. Water requirements seem average, and it is a heavy feeder.
P. meyeri: These plants were seedlings that were raised in a 60% shade house for two
years. None of them ever did look very good and grew very slowly. Each one died as they
were moved outdoors - within a few days.
P. nigra: Several have been tried. It doesn't like winter, summer, wind, salt or sun. Might
do fair as a container plant in a very sheltered area. Very susceptible to wind.
P. nigra cv. Bory: Very slow growing, chlorolic, doesn't like summer, but it lives. It seems
to be responding to massive nitrogen doses, approximately 10 lbs. of N per 1000 sq. feet
and fed 6-8 times from March to October. Budding season begins in March. Culming sea-
son in early April. Height at end of 7 years is about 9 feet. So far not hardy at all.
P. nigra cv. Henon: Two very healthy, pretty plants have been tried and both of them
shocked and died immediately. Deserves another try.
P. nidularia cv. Smooth Sheath: Has been fairly fast to spread, but very slow to gain height,
being only about 3 feet in four years. It was damaged badly in '86, (10 freeze), and took
all next year to recover. It is currently looking better than it ever has, with with good color
and very little chlorosis. Budding begins in early May and starts culming in early June.
P. nuda: Started with a one gallon plant with I culm, two years ago. Now its a one gallon
plant with three culms. Its very slow and color is so-so.
P. purpurata cv. Solid Stem: Extremely chlorotic, but otherwise vigorous. It is spreading
fearfully, at least doubling in area each season. It has grown to about 4-5 feet tall but has
approximately forty culms in only two seasons. Budding season begins mid-March,
20 Gary Mitchell 1989
culming in mid-April. Chlorosis persists. Possibly as it gets older, it will improve.
P. purpurata cv. Straight stem: Dies to ground every winter, but recovers by end of the
summer to look surprising good, although small. It will be moved this winter to try to
change its environment. It is currently very shaded and protected from wind by many trees.
P. riridis: This one so far is doing fair, in four years, it has grown to 15 feet. It is very
chlorotic, but is responding to treatment slowly. Budding starts in April and culming in
early June. It is wind resistant. It needs a lot of water and food. One point of interest, its
rhizomes run very deep - at about 20 inches.
P. riridis cv. Robert Young: Same as above, but not quite as big and less cold hardy.
P. rim.\": Has mixed performance, has good and bad years. It has taken {)O with no damage,
but lost half its growth with 5 - I {)O in other years. It needs a lot of food and water to look
good, and tends to be chlorotic late in winter and early spring. In summer and fall however,
it is pretty and impressive. Its rhizomes run very shallow, some at 2-3 inches, therefore
making it susceptible to wind damage. In four years, it has grown to 20 feet tall and covers
an area about 12 x 30 feet and is spreading rapidly. Budding season is in April and it starts
culming in late May.
P. puheseem: Two of the seedlings from Quail in 1985, did not survive the first summer,
even though they protected from the sun and wind.
Semiarundinaria jastllosa: A one gallon plant was started this spring and so far it has done
very well. It has very good color and even put up two culms, the largest being about 7' tall.
The following small bamboos have been tried and do fairly well in 60 % shade with
much water:
S. pygmea. A. argenteo-striata, S. tesse/ata: All these survived winter lows to 4 with lit-
tle damage, but none have looked very good. Only A. pygmea has survived outdoors in the
shade of trees and shrubbery.
Arundinaria tecta and A. gigantea: Both do remarkably well, although they are deciduous
here. They will look much better with lots of water, but will do surprisingly well on very
little. Both are unaffected by any amount of salt, wind or heat. They never need fertiliza-
tion and neither can be killed. A. gigantea will reach almost full size in the first season, if
planted early (March) and looks a little more robust than A. tecta. For best appearance, old
culms (3-4 years) should be removed.
Bamboo that have been observed growing in Las Vegas, that have done reasonably
well are:
Pseudosasa japolliea (Sheltered from afternoon sun.)
P. nigra (Sheltered from sun and wind.)
P. aurea
P. hamhusoides
P. hamhusoides cv. Castillon
1989 J. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No. I & 2 21
B. multiplex
B. multiplex cv. Alphonse Karr
B. multiplex cv. Femleaf
- (some winter damage to leaves
at 15 F., but not severely
damaged down to 12.)
B. multiplex (Hort. variety Golden Goddess)
Chimonohamhusa marmorea
The weather in Las Vegas consists of long hot summers, rather short mild winters.
Summer highs range from 100 - 115 F. with an occasional 117 F. Winter lows range
between 68 - 80 F. The hot season starts in early June and lasts thru September. Winter is
December, January and February. Typical lows are 30 - 40 F. with an occasional cold
snap down to 10 - 15 F.. Daytime highs range between 45 - 75 F.
Spring winds can be bad for spring culming bamboo. The winds are commonly from
the south in April, May and can be quite violent, 40 - 60 miles an hour.
The soil in Las Vegas for the most part is limestone, gravely with caliche in layers of
a few inches to many feet thick, poor at best. Other areas consist of blow sand or silt and all
of the soils are alkaline.
The water is either Lake Mead, or well water. Both are high in dissolved solids,
about 1000 ppm or more. Solids consist of sodium, magnesium, and manganese salts and
calcium carbonates.
Rain consists of a few winter storms and an occasional thunder storm in August, Sep-
tember. Total precipitation ranges from 3 to 9 inches.
Elevation is Las Vegas ranges from 2200 - 3100 feet.
22 Michael L. O'Brien 1989
Michael L. O'Brien*: An Interior Installation of Moso Bamboo
Moso bamboo, Phyllostachys heterocycla f. puhescens, is undoubtedly the most
admired ornamental bamboo in the world, and for many the image of the groves of Moso in
the Orient define the notion of beauty among the bamboos. In the past two decades, the
practice of designing interior plantscapes in ever more elaborate atria has become increas-
ingly popular, and these plantscapes almost invariably have a tropical theme. Consequently,
it has become popular among the adventurous and avant-garde to include bamboos in such
designs, even though such use is widely known among contractors and plantsmen to be
"iffy" at times. Moso, given its great beauty, is highly desired for such interior plantings.
On the downside, almost every project owner "knows" that bamboo is exceedingly
dangerous, and will inevitably run everywhere, unstoppably. Almost all plantsmen are
aware that Moso has had its problems in interior installations, ~ n the initial failure of the
installation in the IBM atrium in New York is quite well known. It is also difficult to obtain
in perfect condition, in mature size, in the United States.
In April of 1985, the Landscape Architect for whom the author was working at the
time was contracted by the Architect of a project to be built at 801 N. Brand Blvd., Glen-
dale, CA. The Architect had designed interior planters for the office building in the project,
and required Moso bamboo for them. As part of his duties the Landscape Architect
researched the use of Moso indoors, and an appeal to the ABS membership, written by the
author, for information on the establishment of Moso indoors was published in May, 1985,
in the ABS Newsletter.' We received a gratifyingly large number of replies to this letter,
and were able to provide the Architect with state of the art information on establishing
Moso indoors.
As part of the development of the contract for the project, the author was required to
write specifications for the Moso. (A free copy is available by sending a self-addressed
stamped envelope to the author.) The major points of these specifications were:
2
I. That the Moso be obtained at Inadomi Nursery, Castro Valley, CA.
2. That culms be a minimum of 2 inches in diameter measured I foot
from the ground, and of maximum possible height (untopped).
3. That the divisions be acclimated in a shade house for six months
before installation.
4. That the divisions be wrapped to protect them during transport from
wind, dessication, sun, and so forth.
5. That the divisions be planted entirely, with the roots protected and
kept moist, in the specified soil mix.
6. That a one-year period of establishment be covered by a maintenance
contract.
The contract for the bamboo and for the rest of the landscape material and installation
was awarded to one of California's largest, most experienced, Landscape Contractors.
Box 39785, Los Angeles, CA 900390785.
1989 J. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No. I & 2 23
Based on the specifications, and upon communication with the author, the Contractor
declined to guarantee the performance of the Moso.
In the first week of April, 1986, the Landscape Architect visited Inadomi Nursery and
tagged the divisions for the client. A total of some 30 major culms were selected. The
tubbed divisions contained between one and four major culms each. Almost all of the divi-
sions were from the 1986 division of the Inadomi grove.
During June, 1986, the Landscape Contractor transported the divisions from Castro
Valley to his shade house in Sepulveda, CA, where they were kept in 50% shade, watered
as necessary, and fertilized once with a 45-0-0 urea fertilizer. The author inspected the
divisions twice at the shade house (Figure I). At that time, it was evident that at least two
of the divisions looked somewhat defoliated. However, the author had previously purchased
and transported Moso divisions from Inadomi, and the author's divisions looked equally bad
until they leafed out during the subsequent year's growth flush. Consequently, the author
was not concerned about the condition of the leafy parts. All other parts of the divisions
appeared to be in good health, and appeared to be responding well to acclimatization.
On Monday, February 9, 1987, the Landscape Contractor delivered the divisions to
the site for planting. At that time, the Architect changed the scheduling of the Landscape
Contractor's activities, and the divisions were left outside for the balance of the day, where
they received a maximum of 5500 foot candles of illumination from the hazy winter sun.
One of the divisions, of a single culm, had failed to improve its defoliated appearance dur-
ing acclimatization, and the Landscape Contractor had thrown it away as dead.
On Tuesday, February 10, the divisions (Figure 2) were planted. The atrium is a space
varying between one and three stories high, with glass walls on the southwest exposure, pol-
ished light grey granite on the opposite wall, and unpolished grey granite on the floors.
Maximum light levels inside the space during the day varied from 25 footcandles against
the wall opposite the windows at 8:00 a.m. to 2500 footcandles at the windows at 3:00 p.m.
Natural light is supplemented by metal halide lamps in the ceilings at all levels. Light levels
should be greater during the non-overcast summer months. However, large specimens of
Ficus nitidi are planted outside the glass walls, and light readings taken on their sunny side
suggest that they, along with the glass, intercept about 60% of the incident sunlight. It is
unknown how large maintenance will allow these trees to grow, and thus, how much light
will be prevented from entering the atrium. The ventilation system is continuous in the ceil-
ings. The four planting areas are each six feet square by four feet deep, with subsurface
drains of adequate size (Figure 3).
All divisions were transported by hand truck into the atrium (Figure 4), with the
culms unprotected, which caused damage to all culms that rested against the back of the
hand truck. Supervised by the Architect, all divisions were placed in the excavated planting
areas before backfilling, and arranged to greatest aesthetic advantage (Figure 5). Small
whips were pruned using the hack-at-them-with-a-shovel method. The tubs were removed
from the rootballs using hacksaws (Figure 6). Rootballs appeared to be in good condition.
Only one division proved to have a growing rhizome. Judging from the color of the culm,
this division was probably taken in 1985. Of the 16 divisions, five displayed various
amounts of defoliation. Two divisions had leaves that were severely shredded, evidently due
to quite recent wind damage; all divisions displayed leaves that were damaged. However,
all branch ends were fresh and pliable, indicating that they will probably refoliate. Some
minor chlorosis was observed in several of the divisions.
24 Michael L. O'Brien 1989
Once the placement of the divisions was approved by the Architect, and the tubs had
been cut away from the divisions, the planters were backfilled to the level required by the
Architect. The new soil was placed on top of the rootballs burying all culms from 2 to 5
inches (up to four internodes) deeper that the original soil levels. A ground cover, probably
Sagina sllhulata (Swartz) K. Presl cv. Aurea, "Scotch Moss," is to be planted as sod on top
of the soil. further burying the culms up to 2 inches deeper. The entire planting process con-
sumed four and one half hours (Figure 7).
Following the planting, the up till now unwatered planters were each hand watered
for periods varing from 15 to 24 minutes, until the planters were apparently soaked. As the
Architect objected to the appearance of an irrigation system, and since he did not want to
take the chance that the granite paving might get wet, no irrigation system was provided for
the planters. The nearest water source is located some 165 feet away at an exterior quick
coupling valve. There were no plans as of the date of installation for maintenance, although
the Architect expects that this will be left to the interior maintenance forces.
The completed installation of bamboo (Figure 8) as of March, 1987, gives a delicate
appearance to an otherwise cold and sterile office building atrium. It has proved popular
with the tenants, and with the work force which continues to put the finishing touches on the
building. The Contractor is said to be replacing the one division t ~ t "died" during acclimat-
ization, which will fill in an evident blank spot in one of the planter areas.
The long-term survivability of the Moso, however, is in some doubt. There is no plan
for watering the bamboo. At the present time, the Contractor regularly dumps large quanti-
ties of water on the clumps, but has been provided no contractual guidance for maintaining
them. The ventilating system may prove problematic, as the tops of the taller culms visibly
sway in the air currents it delivers, raising questions as to the influence of dry indoor air on
the bamboo. The Architect's "plan" to turn the bamboo over to the interior maintenance
forces may leave something to be desired: immediately after installation, interior mainte-
nance was observed to be sweeping dirt from the granite floors into the planters. Let us hope
that they introduce nothing toxic into the planters. The potential problem for the culms
being planted deeply is to be partly ameliorated. The Architect has directed that the soil
level be lowered, in an effort to prevent the grout between the granite pavers from wicking
water up, possibly hurting the granite. No mention of or provision for fertilization or pest
control has been put forward.
It is. of course, profoundly to be hoped that this interior installation of Moso will be
successful. The Owner is aware of the potential problems, but has no competent resources
to draw on to ensure the bamboo's health. In the meantime, readers of this Journal are
encouraged to visit the site and experience the beauty of this most graceful bamboo.
NOTES
I. O'Brien, Michael, 1985. Bamboo Indoors [Letters to ABS], American Bamhoo Society
Newsletter V/(3): 1.
2. As is typical in such cases, the Landscape Architect had no knowledge of any other parts
of the specification while those for the landscape (including bamboos) were being prepared.
Both he and the author have no knowledge of whether or not these specifications were used,
in whole or in part, by either the Architect or the Contractor. In any event, the Architect had
the authority to modify, amplify, or completely ignore, any part of the prepared
1989 1. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No.1 & 2 25
specifications.
3. The taxonomic status of the Indian Laurel Fig is quite confused. However, this species is
too well known, at least in Southern California, to merit any concern over its exact botanical
identity.
Figure I. Growing in the nursery.
26 Michael L. O'Brien 1989
Figure 2. The Moso on site prior to installation.
Figure 3. The planters before the planting work began.
1989 1. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No.1 & 2 27
Figure 4. The plants were moved in with a hand truck.
Figure 5. Positioning the plants.
28 Michael L. O'Brien 1989
Figure 6. Removing the containers.
Figure 7. Filling the planters with soil after positioning the plants.
1989 1. Amer. Bamboo Soc. Vol. 7 No.1 & 2 29
Figure 8. The final installation.
DIRECTORS
Richard Haubrich William Teague
President Vice-President
Dorothy Roberts Gilbert Voss
Secretary-Treasurer
Ned Jaquith Elizabeth Haverfield
CONTENTS
K. M. Wong: Current and Potential Uses of Bamboo
Kenneth Brennecke
Editor
William Gunther
Gerald Bol
in Peninsular Malaysia ..................................................................... -.............................. .
Richard W. Pohl: Method for Obtaining Vegetative
Chromosome Counts of Bamboos ................................................................. ; ................. 16
Gary Mitchell: Notes on Bamboo Survivability in
the Pahrump Valley .............. : ........................................................................................... 17
Michael L. O'Brien: An Interior Installation of Moso Bamboo ...................................... 22